State Threatens Parents’ Rights with Radical Education Bill

You have until tomorrow, Friday 10 November to comment on the draft Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, which proposes to take away powers from School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and choice from Home Schooling families. Even if you are not a parent or a teacher, we urge to write a submission, write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper and mobilise others to the same.

Summary of the threats It would increase your tax, raise school fees and increase the costs and administration of home educating. Depending on provincial education policy, weakened financial viability of quality fee-paying public schools may lead to an exodus, retrenchment of teachers and thus loss of quality. Six hundred thousand school staff as well as their spouses and partners would have their privacy invaded by having to disclose their financial and ‘in kind’ interests. The state could over-rule governing bodies’ language policy, especially threatening the remaining 1 out of 20 single-medium Afrikaans schools. It would be more difficult for schools to rent facilities to churches and independent schools. This and the loss of teacher appointment powers to School Governing Bodies (SGBs) would indirectly impact religious freedom. Implementation powers are in the hands of provinces, likely making education a key issue in provincial elections and educational refugees moving province. The consultation process seems unequal, with some stakeholders consulted early and the rest have an unreasonable deadline. BELA is the most radical change in education law since the 1996 Schools Act.

By Philip Rosenthal, Christian View Network. This article was published on Biznews, 6 November 2017.

Choose a method to make a submission:

Make a submission now, if you are used to making submissions to government or feel comfortable that you do not need help, please go ahead and make your submission right now by tomorrow, Friday, 10 November. Send it to Adv Rudman:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. Bcc a copy to:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
, this will allow the Pestalozzi Trust to keep track of the submissions. AND/OR:

Make an anonymous submission. One of the major concessions that the Pestalozzi Trust was able to negotiate, is that the DBE will accept anonymous submissions if handled through a legal process developed by the Trust. Your details will be completely hidden from the DBE officials. This process will be managed by the Trust’s lawyers. To keep the administrative burden and costs as low as possible, we will be asking you to use a pre-determined format. The details of the process and guidelines will be sent to you by the Pestallozi Trust.

Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local NewspaperSunday Times:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Daily News:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Independent on Saturday:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sunday Tribune:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
City Press:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Business Day:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Daily Sun:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cape Times:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Mercury:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Share on Social media Join the BELA Bill Facebook group for helpful information and posts you can share to mobilise others to action.